| Date: September 23, 1999 | | Location Canada to Mexico - #14 - Pacific City to Salem | | Where: Salem, Oregon | Thursday - Jim writes
We are home again! We left Pacific City this morning under clear skies, the first since Astoria. I have already written of the fog at Astoria, and we had thick fog also yesterday (Wed) when we left Manzanita heading for Tillamook. Invisible to us were the bays and estuaries, the sand beaches and the breakers. Instead we rode enclosed in a tunnel of fog with only a short piece of pavement visible in front and behind. We had to wipe our glasses constantly to see. It is hard to measure progress in those conditions. We stopped for a second breakfast at Rockaway and lunch in Tillamook, hoping to get charged up. Finally, the sun shining as we headed out of Tillamook really got us going, and we felt like we made some miles--we could at least see where we were going. We stopped at Sand Lake for $2.00 worth of snacks and got about $20.00 worth of local lore and legend. That's what makes touring so fun. By the time we reached Pacific City the fog was rolling in with a cool ocean breeze and we reluctantly choose a motel room for another night.
The first segment of this morning's ride Jeanette termed "peaceful", as we wound our way up the Little Nestucca River, with almost no traffic, the small stream almost hidden by the lush green growth, blue sky above a canopy of Alder leaves.
Reaching the main highway at Grand Ronde began our second segment. Here the force of the weather from the coast coming inland literally blew us into Salem. We rolled along with the heavy traffic covering the miles to Salem at a speed we had forgotten we could ride. We pulled into West Salem at 1:30 and celebrated with espressos and scones.
It's raining here in Salem, but we could care less. No worry of open road travel, or dilemma of campsite or motel for us tonight. We are home.
Thanks again to the many of you who responded to us while we were on the road. You have no idea how much the messages brightened our days.
|  | Days Distance: 66.4 miles
Days Climb: 1790 feet
Days Average Speed: 12.3 mph
Days Max Speed: 35.5 mph
Total Miles: 654.6 miles |
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